It turned out that the demonic path Gu Masters of that time also had descendants. Before being arrested by the Tie family, they instructed their offspring to remember this history, and if the opportunity ever arose, they must repay the debt of gratitude.
The three brothers were precisely the descendants of that demonic path Gu Master. Upon seeing this token, they immediately explained the situation to the young stall owner and asked him what assistance he needed, promising to go all out.
This young man was also cunning.
He immediately replied that he lacked three subordinates and had no one to help him in daily matters.
The three brothers exchanged glances, then simultaneously knelt down before the young man, pledging to serve him as their master for twenty years.
Within those twenty years, they would do his bidding. But after twenty years, they would regain their freedom.
These three brothers were well-known figures in the training grounds. Each had a cultivation of rank three, and they were especially skilled in coordinated attacks.
Relying on the abilities of these three brothers, the young man enjoyed another twenty years of wealth and luxury. During that time, he made the brothers serve him tea and water, bring him yuan stones, and so on, and they always obliged.
But after twenty years, having repaid their debt of gratitude, the brothers left him. He had long forgotten how to work, was too ashamed to beg, and knew no restraint. He continued to live in a drunken stupor. In less than half a month, he died.
Of course, all of this happened in Fang Yuan's previous life.
Now, those three demonic path Gu Master brothers had not yet discovered this half token. And this half token had already fallen into Fang Yuan's hands. As for that young man, who cares about his life or death?
According to the memories of his previous life, this half token would only be discovered by the three demonic path Gu Master brothers next year.
But now, Fang Yuan had taken control of the half token ahead of time, and he brought Bai Ning Bing and Shang Xinci to seek them out.
The three brothers also had a stall at their doorstep, adapting to local customs and enjoying themselves.
"Ah? It's Lord Fang Zheng! And Lady Bai Ning Bing!" Upon seeing the two, the three quickly stood up.
They had both been beaten by Fang Yuan or Bai Ning Bing.
In this world, power is revered. Even more so in the views of demonic path Gu Masters. Bai Ning Bing was a rank four Gu Master, and Fang Yuan had defeated Ju Kaibei, so the demonic path Gu Masters couldn't help but admire them both.
"I came here to see you voluntarily," Fang Yuan said expressionlessly, his gaze sweeping over the three brothers.
These three brothers all bore the surname Xiong.
The eldest was called Xiong Tu. Among the three, he was the shortest, stout and sturdy. He was a rank three high-stage earth path Gu Master.
The second was called Xiong Huo. He went shirtless and wore shorts. His entire body was red. He was a rank three medium-stage fire path Gu Master.
The third was called Xiong Feng. He wore a conical hat and had long, narrow phoenix eyes; he liked to squint. He was a rank three low-stage wind path Gu Master.
Hearing Fang Yuan's words, the three brothers became uneasy.
Xiong Tu quickly clasped his fists and bowed to Fang Yuan: "Lord Fang Zheng, may I ask what business you have here today? If my brothers and I have offended you in any way, I apologize at once."
Fang Yuan raised his brow slightly. "You must have heard that I have given up on the training grounds and chosen to help Shang Xinci become the young master of the Shang family. We're short-handed now, so all three of you will come over."
"This..." The Xiong brothers frowned.
They had come to Shang family city and participated in the training for only one purpose: to become external elders of the Shang family.
But Fang Yuan wanted them to assist Shang Xinci, which was too far from their ideals. Shang Xinci was just a naive young girl with only rank one cultivation. Her aptitude was even worse. The three of them each had B-rank aptitude, and together, they could even hold off a rank four Gu Master for a short time.
The idea of bowing down to Shang Xinci and becoming her subordinates was extremely undesirable for the three brothers.
If this were said by anyone else, the three brothers would have immediately attacked and beaten that person down. But since it was Fang Yuan who said it, they felt very troubled.
They had all witnessed Fang Yuan's battle against Ju Kaibei. Even together, they were no match for him.
"Fang Zheng has not come with good intentions; if his intentions were good, he wouldn't have come."
"The way he's acting, he's clearly trying to force us to pledge loyalty!"
"Alas, bad luck. To be targeted by Fang Zheng. The three of us can't beat him alone, and on top of that, he has Bai Ning Bing as an ally, and also the purple thorn token..."
The three brothers exchanged glances, knowing each other's thoughts. They didn't want to pledge loyalty, but circumstances were stronger than them, so they had no choice but to bow their heads.
But then Fang Yuan spoke again: "I don't want to force you. If you're willing to come, come. If not, I won't insist."
The three brothers looked at each other in confusion, not knowing whether Fang Yuan was sincere or just pretending to be generous.
Finally, the youngest, Xiong Feng, gathered his courage and said cautiously, "Lord Fang Zheng, to be honest, the three of us are used to being free as clouds and wild cranes. We really don't want to participate in the struggle for the Shang family heir. So... so..."
The other two grinned awkwardly, bowing and nodding to Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing.
"Hm?" Fang Yuan's brow twitched slightly, and his eyes shot out a sharp, cold light. "You three really have some nerve, daring to refuse my invitation?"
The three brothers' hearts skipped a beat.
Xiong Tu quickly clasped his fists and hurriedly explained, "No, no, that's not it. Lord Fang Zheng, don't misunderstand. We three feel very honored to be recruited by you. My third brother got too excited and couldn't express himself well; his words didn't convey his meaning. Actually, he wanted to say that we are very eager to join Miss Shang Xinci's command."
"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I meant," Xiong Feng hastily echoed.
"Heh, since that's the case, I'm relieved. Since you all are so eager, Xinci, take them in." Fang Yuan turned to Shang Xinci.